Trinity Sunday St ’s, Bethany Beach May 30, 2021

Isaiah 6:1-8 Canticle 13 Romans 8:12-17 :1-17

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The only missionary I ever met wasn’t, properly speaking, a missionary, but was a young lady named Milly, who came from Uganda to the United States to work among the poor in Wilmington, Delaware. She came to a strange and unknown land to be in the place where God’s love and hope were most needed.

How, I asked her, did she have the courage to do this? She answered that, although the work was difficult and challenging, she was able to do it because the Lord was with her. In our own strength there is a limit to what we can achieve; but with the Lord, anything is possible. In doing so, Milly acknowledged the help of the Holy Spirit to equip her and make her ministry effective.

Her example highlights the need to work in partnership with God. A member of Church, Wilmington, and a friend, Francis DuPont put it this way: “God is the senior partner, and the junior partner.” In the world we are to be God’s eyes, his hands and feet, his voice. Today, in our reading, we met someone who thought he was all of those things, but who came to realize that he was lacking in something. The thing he lacked was the Holy Spirit. And the person to whom I am referring is Nicodemus.

Our gospel reading describes Nicodemus as a Pharisee, and a member of the Jewish Council known as the . He is someone who has studied the law and indeed calls him a “teacher of Israel.” As such, he is among those with whom Jesus often comes into conflict. Jesus saw the as compromised by their love for power and status, who used the Law not to reveal God but to tie people up in knots. The Pharisees, in turn, saw Jesus as a dangerous radical out to challenge their authority. In this they were correct.

Yet God draws Nicodemus the Pharisee into conversation with Jesus. By doing so, Nicodemus is crossing a line, the line which separates his group from the followers of Jesus. Curiosity has got the better of him, and that is a good thing, because despite his learning and position, Nicodemus sees that in Jesus, something new is happening. He observes in Jesus an expression of God’s grace and mercy beyond what the Law requires.

Nicodemus visits Jesus at night. On the one hand we can surmise that under cover of darkness he will less likely be seen, or that at night, without the crowds around, he will have a better opportunity for one-to-one time with Jesus. On the other hand, the darkness of night acts as a metaphor for his lack of understanding. Although he studies and has learnt the letter of the law, spiritually he is in darkness. But he is not completely blind; he has seen the signs that Jesus does and he wants to grow in faith and wisdom.

In the there are two other occasions where we hear about Nicodemus. The first is when the Pharisees try unsuccessfully to have Jesus arrested. It appears that only one of them, Nicodemus, is concerned with due process. He asks: “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?” (:51) To which the other Pharisees reply, “Surely you are not also from , are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.” (7:52). i.e. search the Scriptures. Well, true or not, that reply was meant to silence Nicodemus.

The other time we hear of him is after the death of Jesus. It is Nicodemus who brings a large quantity of ointments and spices to prepare Jesus’ body for burial. That tells us that Nicodemus was a wealthy man. It also tells us that he cared enough about Jesus to ensure that he was given a proper burial. To do this he would have taken a risk: that of being found out by his peers, who no doubt would not have shared Nicodemus’ desire to bury Jesus with honor.

There is, I think, a third time when Nicodemus was present: the festival of Pentecost. That was the coming of the Holy Spirit into Jerusalem during the Festival of Weeks. It is highly likely that Nicodemus would have been there, in which case he would have received the very Holy Spirit he heard Jesus telling him about in that first encounter, when Nicodemus visited Jesus by night. I like to think that at Pentecost, Nicodemus was among those filled by God’s Holy Spirit.

The story of Nicodemus is relevant to us today. He is an example of one who seeks God in truth and righteousness beyond the boundaries of their own understanding. Not everything can be encompassed by the Law, and although God is in the Law, he is not contained by it. Gradually Nicodemus sees that our actions must spring from the heart and spirit of God and not just from his Law. It is Jesus who reveals the spirit and heart of God, as seen in his acts of mercy and healing, his prayer and his patience.

Sometimes we need patience in waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit. That was one of the lessons Nicodemus had to learn. Jesus says: “The wind blows where it chooses.” To expect the spirit to dance to your tune is human thinking. To wait for the spirit to come is God’s way. At first Nicodemus did not understand what Jesus was saying: he had to wait until Pentecost, when all of a sudden those words of Jesus came back to him, and he had a moment of revelation.

That is true for us as well. Not all of Jesus’ sayings make sense, but when the Spirit is given to us, our understanding can be reborn, and we can begin to understand Jesus’ teachings more fully. And like Nicodemus, we need to take steps towards meeting Jesus, even if it means crossing a line which we don’t feel like crossing. The Spirit longs to come to us, but we often deny him because of our lack of love or patience or willingness to change. Sometimes we deny the Spirit by seeking substitutes in drugs, drink, food, and wealth. But such things never fully satisfy because they are things of the flesh. Only the Spirit makes us complete and whole; only in the power of the Spirit do we come to know God and God’s will.

Jesus says, “no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.” That’s like saying, “the kingdom of heaven is already here! Can’t you see it?” The answer is “no, I can’t see it, but I want to see it. I want to be part of it. This is where I want to be.” As we open our arms, we invite the spirit into our lives, to sanctify, purify, rectify, edify, and enflame us with the passion of Christ’s love, so that we can be an offering worthy of the name of God. Jesus calls us into a fundamental spiritual relationship with him. The spirit working within you, working within the church, will bring that necessary impetus that will enable you to identify and to fulfill God’s will.

Remember, though, who is in charge: the senior partner, who is God. The call for junior partners goes out to all of you, at every stage in your life, often more than once. Wherever you are, in whatever situation, you can respond with a “yes”. The need to be God’s eyes, hands, feet and voice is present in every generation.

In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Father David Beresford